Not Bad, Just Wise

Out of all my children, my little Dwight Gatlin Jr. better known as DJ was an exceptional child. What do I mean by exceptional? You wanted to spank his butt everyday except when he was sleep. (LOL)

He was only a year old when we found him on top of the cabinets, in the bathroom sink, and on top of the refrigerator. This boy almost made us feel like he was a gymnast! Then by the time he was three, he was going to tell his momma everything. To this day, my mother jokes at how fast he would climb our stairs in Florida to snitch on her for drinking my sodas.

People would say, "That boy is bad". And although sometimes I even thought that, I was infuriated by their mere suggestion of such. So, I began to challenge my child. Anyone who could call a complete football game by the age of four and tell you exactly what the referee was going to call could not be considered bad. Even when he was four, he was playing Madden against the area teenagers who were amazed that this four year old had the ability to beat them.

I started to recognize bad as smart! Isn't it amazing that when you really sit down with a child who has behavioral problems and you talk to them; you find that most of the time, the child knows more than you think he or she should know. DJ could be in a classroom, hear you say something while he was half sleep and still pass a test. Not only that, he has always been able to hold conversations with any adult. So my challenge begin by asking him strange questions. These were questions that only wisdom could answer.

Then I found out that this child wasn't so much a smart child as in genius, but he was indeed a wise child. This wisdom could come from one source and that source alone....God. God saw fit to bless this child with an unusual sense of wisdom and now I had to adapt to parent this type of child. When I realized this, it made me set higher goals for him, share deeper spiritual revelations with him, and most importantly listen to him. Yes, the child whom everyone thought was bad and had to be spanked in Mr. Christian's second grade class, was now sharing a message of truth to his mother that only God could give.

Now just as with any wise person, it's sometimes hard to tell him anything. Nevertheless, here's the trick...."DJ you do not know everything and the only way to evolve is to listen to those around you sometimes then weigh the information." Does it help, sometimes. So I guess I'm trying to say to you that you should never take your child for-granted by allowing people or even yourself to tag the label of "BAD" on them. See the strengths in your child, dig for the creative concepts, help that child to develop critical thinking skills, and most importantly be careful what you call he or she.....as in this boy is bad or this girl is bad. Maybe just maybe you'll figure out that your child is not bad, just wise.